MAN BEING CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE

We should never regard human beings as just another animal. The animal life is the animal life; it is not the human life. The Bible says that in the universe there is God’s life, human life, animal life, and plant life. Although many animals are beautiful, they cannot be compared to man. The record concerning God’s creation is less than two chapters in Genesis. Creation may appear to be very simple; however, the mystery in it is difficult to clearly explain. No matter how many discoveries there are in science, they cannot explain the record in Genesis. There is no other record in the world that tells us that man was created by God and created in God’s image. Only the Bible says this. Not only does the Bible say that man was created by God; it also says that man was created in God’s image. In other words, God created us with Himself as the mold, the pattern. We were created to be the same as God (1:26).

GOD DESIRING TO WORK HIMSELF INTO MAN

The record in Genesis 1 concerning creation is very simple. On the first day God spoke a simple sentence: “Let there be light; and [141] there was light” (v. 3). On the second day God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters” (v. 6). Thus, air was created. On the third day God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear…And God said, Let the earth sprout grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit…and it was so” (vv. 9, 11). Thus, the plant life was generated. On the fourth day God created the heavenly bodies to rule over the day and the night (vv. 14-18). On the fifth day God created the creatures in the waters and the birds to fly above the earth (vv. 20-21). On the sixth day God created the animals on the earth (vv. 24-25). After all these things were created, God created man. However, the record concerning God’s creation of man is not as simple as that of His creation of other living things or the heavenly bodies. God did not create man by simply speaking. Before God created man, there was a council. “God said, Let Us make man in Our image” (v. 26). God used the pronouns Us and Our in reference to Himself.

We should consider God’s reference to Himself as “Us” and “Our” before He created man. We probably understand that God is triune. Even though we know the doctrine of the trinity, no one can clearly explain what it means for God to be three yet one. Genesis 1:26 says, “God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” In this verse Us refers to God, who is three yet one. He is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” By considering these two verses together, we see that God said “Us” and “Our” when He created man because it involved His economy and arrangement. The mystery of the three-yet-one God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—is not a doctrine; it is for Him to work Himself into us.

When God created man, He referred to Himself as “Us” and “Our” because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit were involved. The Father as the Creator and Inaugurator of all things is God being invisible, the Son is God being manifested, and the Spirit is God indwelling us. The Father is the source, the Son is the expression, and the Spirit is God entering into us. Hence, the Father planned, the Son accomplished what the Father planned, and the Spirit enters into us to apply to us all that the Father planned and the Son accomplished. Hence, after the Lord Jesus came into the world, He [142] died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead to become the Spirit. After His resurrection, the Lord charged His disciples to go and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the Father, the Son, and the Spirit so that His believers may be completely one with the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.

MAN BEING CREATED IN THE IMAGE 
OF THE LORD JESUS

In Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” However, 1 Timothy 1:17 says that God is invisible. Since God is invisible, how could He have an image? Is this contradictory? Speaking of the Son, Colossians 1:15 says, “Who is the image of the invisible God.” God is invisible, but the Son of His love is the image of the invisible God. God cannot be seen, but one day Jesus Christ, who was the image of God, came. Hence, when God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,” that image referred to the Lord Jesus. God created man in the image of the Lord Jesus. We all were created in the image of the Lord Jesus.

Let us consider a suit as an example. My suit has two sleeves; hence, we can be sure that it was made according to my two arms. If another person were to wear this suit, it would not fit him, because it was not sewn according to his measurements. However, the suit fits me because it was sewn according to my measurements. If the suit is left in the closet, it will not have any meaning. If the suit had feelings, it would feel empty and bored. When I wear the suit, it has meaning; it fulfills its purpose.

NEEDING TO RECEIVE THE LORD JESUS AS LIFE

We were created in the image of the Lord Jesus. This means we were created in a way that matches Him so that He can enter into us. This is the meaning of the universe. The meaning of the universe is for God to be expressed. Wherever God is expressed, the universe has meaning. God gains His expression in a subjective way, not in an objective way. Since God desires to enter into man and be expressed through man, God created man in His image. This is very special. Every light bulb emits light for the sole purpose of expressing electricity. However, if electricity is not transmitted into the light bulb, the light bulb loses its meaning of existence. The meaning of our human life is for God to enter into us and be expressed through us. [143] The meaning of the universe is for a group of people to receive God into them to be their content. Hence, to be saved means to be rescued by God out of a human life that is void of meaning into a life that is full of meaning. Now that we are saved, we have the meaning of our human life. Our life is meaningful because the Lord Jesus is in us.

We should not think that man needs salvation merely because he is sinful. Even if man did not have sin, he would still need to believe in the Lord Jesus. Man needs to believe in Jesus not mainly because he has sins but because without Him man has no meaning in life. This is just like a suit that needs to be worn in order to be meaningful. Man needs to believe in Jesus not merely because man is sinful. Even if man were not sinful, he would still need Jesus, because man was created in God’s image to express God, and thus, he needs to receive God. Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, but they did not receive God’s life into them. Even if they had not sinned, they still needed to receive the life of God.

This also applies to us. It is not until we believe in the Lord Jesus and He comes into us that our human life becomes meaningful. The Bible uses the expression believe into (John 1:12; 3:16), meaning that we believe into the Lord Jesus. When we believe into the Lord Jesus, we also receive Him into us. Thus, we not only have His image but also His life. Not only so, He operates within us to transform and renew us so that we are conformed to the image of the Son of God. We all are in this process of conformation. The Lord Jesus in us is the meaning of our human life.